Film fandom seems to have been waiting for the internet. For one old enough to remember having to rely on lobby posters, free film magazines and the critical monopoly of Empire, Sight and Sound and Barry Norman, this ravenous appetite for information and discussion based around our favourite art form is understandable.

Growing up in the UK in the eighties, the idea of gaining a view outside of this narrow range seemed pretty unbelievable. The extent of my access to a film community was people in my social circle who simply happened to be enthusiasts, and the only window into the realm of the non mainstream was the opulent, and often (well, usually) deceptive cover art work on the video covers adorning the then-new palaces of dreams; the video store, which to me were much more of gateway into the imagination than cinema’s ever where.

This is not a nostalgic piece, though.

Because it sucked and I do not miss it one bit.

I have read a lot (and heard a lot, but more on that later) about how bit-torrent, video on demand and DVD have killed the experience of savouring and discovering films (and music).  I get this. I recall saving for albums on vinyl and listening to them inside out, partly because I was young, and that is what young people do, but also because I was starved for content. The same can be said for film. I clearly recall the ‘Video Collection’ and ‘CIC Video’ brandings releasing the first wave of sell-through titles in the early eighties. These previously rental-only products, unaffordable to the average mortal, where now available to purchase by regular skin-jobs for 1/8^th of the price. Tim Burton’s Batman is often erroneously credited as being a break-through release for gaining a simultaneous rental and sale release but Raiders of the Lost Ark predated this by nearly eight years, being released by the aforementioned CIC for a (then) staggeringly low £19.99.

This availability, exacerbated by the internet, has had another key impact on our ravenous appetite for content; the rise of blogging, podcasting and the associated social media platforms has created a hitherto unimaginable global community of fandom and criticism that is as amazing as it often is dubious. The sheer breadth of opinion available has resulted in sites such as Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes bestowing almost omnipotent ratings: a hive-mind/critical ether has been established. Consensus can be reached and contradicted in days. Liam Neeson punching a wolf or Harrison Ford hiding in a refrigerator can become memes in hours. Everybody is a critic. There is however an even newer phenomenon; the amateur podcaster.

I use the term amateur in its purest form, not as one of derision. I learned of podcasts through my fandom of the Star Wars franchise.  After a cursory look around I realised that since sometime in 2005 it had become possible to listen to downloads of internet radio-shows (or approximations of them at least) on any imaginable pop-cultural element.  ‘I can listen to a radio show that just talks about Lucio Fulci?!?’  I exclaimed. As one who has a long daily bus journey, the appeal of this was not lost on me.  The majority of the hosts of these shows were/are far less guarded than their professional counterparts, and another element of the appeal was the insights into the real lives, personalities, trials and tribulations of the faceless pseudo-personalities.  I have frequently heard feedback that is variant on ‘even when I do not know what you guys are talking about, I enjoy it’

Clearly this is infested water. To put it simply, most podcasts are utter shit. Many pod-fade (one of the many irritatingly unimaginative terms associated with the medium, although Vodcast to describe video podcasting takes the crown), many are unlistenable and many (well, let us be honest here, all) have a heavy funk of ego-gratification about them. The same happy-desperation one would associate with self-publishing authors. Obviously I had to start one up myself.

My show (ahem,  www.chinstrokervspunter.podomatic.com ) began in what is know as the second wave of podcasters, the first group of devotees to the new form to think ‘hey, I could do that..’. I quickly realised the appeal: podcasting is a true meritocracy and an affordable one too; where else can fans of obscure television shows rub shoulders on iTunes with professionally produced content by the BBC or HBO? The other appeal (again associated with the aforementioned ego gratification) is that of feedback and community. I have always been suspicious of download ‘stats’, so feedback (bloggers will agree with me here) is the only thing that makes us feel slightly less silly about what we are doing. The friendships and networking connections I have made through podcasting and the associated social networking platforms have been pretty mind-blowing. There are entire genres of film I was not aware of until listening to first generation podcasts such as Pickled Embryo and Cinema Diabolica, as well as communities such as (the now defunct) Pop Syndicate.

So with this spirit of information, entertainment and community in mind I would like to guide you through a few of my favourite or at least formative amateur (again, meant in the purest sense) film shows. I am not sure where amateur ends and professional begins when it comes to podcasts so a couple of these choices may seem a little suspect in that department (calling /Filmcast amateur may seem unusual, but compared to Starz TV’s Spartacus podcast for example, it is). Two more caveats: I am not including 35MM Heroes here because that would be somewhat self-serving, and I assume you all listen to it. Also, some of the podcasters here are my friends. Some in the real world sense, some in the amorphous online sense. I do not apologise for this though as in all cases I have become friends with them though my interest, enjoyment and respect for what they do, not vice versa.

Outside The Cinema

A fellow  second-waver, Outside the Cinema is a US show and  one of the more polished and professional sounding, and along with the now-defunct Cinema Diabolica was one of the big-hitters of the (also now defunct) Pop Syndicate family of shows (although the network lives on in as palavr.com). OTC is the brainchild of Bill Fulkerson and was originally co-hosted (somewhat reluctantly) by a friend and now (somewhat less reluctantly) by ‘Mr Chris’ They cover horror, exploitation, Eurocrime, Giallo et al and have a structured radio-show format. The main points of recommendation are the sheer amount of obscure cinema they will expose you to, the fact that they are genuinely amusing and the sizable community that they have nurtured.  Another point of entertainment is how fearless Bill is in calling out (albeit ironically) their listenership, but they are ultimately welcoming and inclusive

Better in the Dark

I first came across BITD when I heard their epic coverage of the Halloween series around the time Rob Zombies’ (unfairly) maligned remake was released. Recording out of Brooklyn, Thom and Derrick have enviable genre knowledge and their discussions often bleed over to television, comic books and most intriguingly pulp novels of the thirties. They are also connected to that other cornerstone of internet communities; fan fiction. This is a great example of how the personalities of the hosts can carry a show. Derrick’s relaxed style and Thom’s (sometimes insane) rants make for a good time that covers a lot of ground.

/Filmcast

The podcast spin off of the twelve year old blog-site is probably the ‘cast that stretches the ‘amateur’ mandate of this article the most. Hosted by David Chen, Adam Quigley, and Devindra Hardawar it is primarily concerned with new releases, high-profile guests (both film-makers and other bloggers/critics) and features what is now a stalwart of movie podcasting the ‘what we’ve been watching’ section. A lot of people seem turned off by the perceived arrogance of some of the hosts, and it must be said, if you do not like critics who deal in absolutes, move on, but it does undeniably feature some of the more intelligent and reasoned discussion of new releases out there.

Cinerama

Eat Sleep Live Films very own Mr Movie Ian Loring has hosted this one man podcast covering new releases for a few years now. This (as pointed out by my earlier caveat) may seem somewhat biased as he is a friend, but I was a fan of the show before this, and it was Ian’s lack of pretence and fussiness that made me realise that regular people could podcast. Ian is much more restrained here than on the collaborative 35mm Heroes and the reviews are smart, witty and the show does not have any of the cynical motives that a lot of new release based podcasts exhibit. Also, as somebody who once attempted a one man podcast, it is impossible to underestimate how difficult this is.

GGTMC

Another of the palavr.com (formerly Popsyndicate) shows that along with Cinema Diabolica and Outside the Cinema helped to establish a community of exploitation and cult-movie fans. There is an endearing, barely suppressed homo-eroticism to the show as it looks at ‘tough-tits’ action heroes such as Lorenzo Lamas and Brian Bosworth without shying away from the questionable reasons us men are fascinated by watching oiled, pictionary  beefcakes flex and grunt their way through cartoonish exploits with eighties hair metal blasting in the background.  Big Willie and The Samurai are the antithesis of the boring sub-Howard Stern shock jock style so many North American shows adopt and demonstrate a genuine affection towards the films they cover and their community of listeners. They discuss two films a week, have a very prominent listener feedback section and begin with the ubiquitous what we’ve been watching section. If you enjoyed the documentary Not Quite Hollywood and are a fan of eighties action movies, but want to dig a little deeper, GGTMC will be a good fit.

Horror Etc

Do not be fooled, there is a lot of ‘Etc’ with this show, as it often veers away from the genre of its title. It’s main strength lies in its unpretentious discussion that skews towards classic horror (think Universal and Val Lewton) but it is not shy about covering newer topics such as the recent wave of ultra-intense French gore flicks. You might not discover the same amount of obscurities as you would in other podcasts, but you will get pretty detailed discussion and the slightly prickly chemistry between the two hosts is a lot of fun.

Filmjunk

For my money, Filmjunk is easily one of the best all-round film podcasts out there. Hosted by four friends, it is the weekly podcast for the blog-site of the same name and covers one new release a week, but also has a (you guessed it) what we’ve been watching  section and a number of other features that makes it usually clock in at over three hours. The success of Filmjunk is in its balance between intelligent discussion and the sheer entertainment value of its well balanced crew who  are naturally very funny but are capable of making critical judgements that are seemingly disassociated from the larger critical and blogging world. They are able to offer counter-point arguments to conventionally agreed opinions without playing devil’s advocate and seeming mindlessly contrary, which is the bane of blogging and podcasting and is easy to spot and rather ugly. You also get a sense of the personality and lives of the hosts through one of the greatest gifts of the podcast: the biographical tangent.

Simply Syndicated  Network/ Movies You Should See

Movies You Should See is probably one of my more controversial picks, and I should point out that I have not listened to it for some time, but I include it here for a number of reasons: Part of the Simply Syndicated network of podcasts, run by Richard Smith in the UK, it is a first-waver that picks one film a week and a group of podcasters, who usually feature on other Simply Syndicated shows, discuss, with an emphasis on tangents and riffing on the film itself. The show’s original co-host was Mike Dawson (now host of the one man Left Field Cinema podcast) who provided a much more movie-literate perspective to counterbalance all of the hijinks.  I disengaged with the show after Mike left as I felt that the banter took over to the point where the show simply was not aimed at me anymore and it became more about the lives and personalities of the hosts (who are often funny, and are pretty likable), but if you like your film discussion more ‘in the pub’ style then give it a try. The Simply Syndicated podcast network is also interesting in the sense that it was an early attempt from an amateur to monetise their show(s).  I am unsure how successful this has been (if you read this Richard, contact me, I am very curious) but the dance between podcasting and money has always been a tricky one. Most shows will discreetly ask for donations to cover bandwidth and equipment but it is rare for show-runners to try to make it a fully fledged career, and I certainly do not begrudge Richard for trying.

Mondo Movie

Another older show that has thankfully returned after a hiatus (podcasters seem to be doing a lot of procreating lately) is Dan Auty and Ben Howard’s relatively self-explanatory Mondo Movie. In the same way that Larry David is the ‘comedian’s comedian’ MM is the ‘podcasters podcast’, gaining deserved attention for their spot-on discussion of the schlockier side of things with an easy chemistry that can only come from being longtime friends. Cited by numerous podcasts as an influence, to me a large part of the shows appeal (aside from its decent production values) is that it captures the spirit of cult-movie fanzines . There is a genuine enthusiasm that captures the zeal all horror and exploitation nerds felt when they first saw Maniac Cop or discovered that there were bootlegs of uncut Argento films ‘out there’

Clearly this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to movie podcasts and I will be back with more at some point, when I will take a look at the mechanics of film podcasting and some of the politics involved. Let me know what your favourite shows are, or your thoughts on the medium in general.  Many feel that podcasting is still in its infancy, many feel that it has peaked. What do you think?